28 NATURAL AND CIVIL 



the British court, the American colonies had 

 met in Corigress, Sept. 5, 1774 ; and the Con- 

 gress had advised the people to maintain their 

 liberties, in such ways as should be found ne-' 

 cessary. Th? courts of justice, which were held 

 under the royal authority, in all the adjacent 

 provinces, were either shut up, or adjourned 

 without doing any business. The court in 

 Cumberland county, was to have been holdcn 

 at Westminster, on March 13th, 1775. Some 

 of the inhabitants of that, and the adjacent towns, 

 took possessiou of the court house at an early 

 hour, to prevent the officers of the court from 

 entering. Being refused admittance at the cus- 

 tomary time of opening the court, the judges 

 returned to their quarters : About eleven o'clock 

 at night, the sheriff with the other officers of the 

 court, attended by an armed force, repaired to 

 the court house. Being refused admittance, 

 some of the party fired into the house, killed one 

 man, and wounded, several. The ])eople were 

 inflamed to the highest degree, by this rash pro- 

 ceeding. The next day they assembled in large 

 numbers, from all quarters : A coroner attended, 

 and a jur}^ of inquest brought in a verdict, that 

 the man was murdered by tlic court party. Some 

 of the officers were made prisoners, and carried 

 to the gaol iit Northampton, in Massachusetts.: 

 But upoi,i their application to the chief Justice 

 of New York, they \Acre released from their 

 confine ment^ and returned home.* Highl}- ir- 

 ritated bv this event, the committees of a larec 

 body of the people laet at Westminster, April 



* Narrative of the Mafiacre at Westminfler Court House, by Rf ben 

 Jones. • ■ . 



